The farm and farmhouse

About Me

Hi! Im a wife in my mid twenties, living on a farm in the Midwest. Just trying to make ends meet and save for our future as we remodel our old farmhouse, and stay out of debt.
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As of March 2019

Archive for July, 2017

Finally got some checks I have been owed since May. Yikes! That allowed me to pay the mortgage, LOC, and the minimums on both home CCs. All caught up for now.

Home addition is still going well. We are started putting up drywall! That makes such a large difference.

Friend is committed to the military and can't back out now. He signed up for 6 years. Oh well. I am just hoping that getting away from his family will help him. He is going to leave most of his stuff here where it will be safe.

Husband has gotten no word back on the two jobs he has applied for. Phewy. He will test for the two other jobs soon.

My husband's best friend is too nice. His family is lazy, has a lot of kids, and is dirt poor. They have always struggled badly. As the older brother he has always felt the need to help them out, and they take advantage of him. He moved back in with them to help. For some more back story they live in a shed they fixed up in someone's back yard. He shares a very small room with his two younger brothers...

He pays the bills, keeps the heat on, feeds the kids, loans them money, etc. He can not/will not say no. They have opened personal loans in his name and credit cards. He is naive and let them on their word of they will pay him back. They even convinced him to buy a house in his name for them this year. Thankfully it fell through.

He is not good with money, but he isn't bad. He works hard, and pays his bills. But he doesn't really understand interest rates, saving, etc. He is going to school full time, does an unpaid internship full time, and works full time. He is pulling 16 hour days. His mom has never worked, and his dad is a part time "handy man." (eye roll)

Well last week out of the blue he told us that his parents have so much debt in his name that he is drowning and can no longer keep up with the bills. His only option would be to drop out of school and the internship so he could pick up a second job which he doesn't want to do. I think he wants a quick fix. So he came up with his great idea that he would join the military and use the sign on bonus to pay off his debt, and they would pay for his school.

This guy is not cut out for the military. He is sensitive, quiet, and way too meek and kind. I think it would ruin him. He isn't excited about it or wants to do it but in his head it is the only way to get out of the mess.

He only has $20-$30k debt. We told him we would help him budget and if he got a better job he could pay it off. He says he will never get anywhere unless he gets away from his parents. Which I agree, but he has been unsuccessful finding a roommate and can't afford to live on his own. Husband's parents offered to let him live with them. (He is like family and has lived with them when he was younger.) But he refuses to pause school to pay down the debt.

He sprung this on us last week and said he was going to meet with a recruiter. Husband advised him to not sign up for anything and think about it for a while. We invited him over for the weekend so we could sit down and work out a solution for him. Well the next day he called back and said he signed up. Husband is ticked and says he has made up his mind and refuses to try and reason with him anymore. But I think he is making a horrible split second decision and is going to regret it.

I am so mad and sick about this. How DARE his parents use him, and take advantage, and feel no remorse about him having to join the military to pay for them. Oh BTW his mom is on vacation in Florida right now...

It is sad that he is making a life changing decision over $20k in debt. His parents are toxic, and once he gets out he is just going to get into the same mess again if he can't learn to tell them no and budget better.

Ugh. Just needed to rant. He has signed up but not sworn in yet. So I'm not sure if it is too late now. But I am still hoping he comes to his senses. Husband is being mad about it right now and doesn't want to talk about it, but I know he is upset and hurt. His friend stays at our house several times a month and even has a toothbrush here. Friend lived at his parents house during their teenage years (family couldn't afford their kids), so they are like brothers. I think he feels betrayed that his friend signed up without even talking to him about it first.

Ugh so much money out this weekend. I had a mild freak out last night and husband had to calm me down and remind me that we have the loan to spend money.

I bought an oven. It was 40% off and had free delivery. It should be here next week. Freelance checks that are owed to me will cover this so no big deal.

I also bought a chandelier I had been eyeballing for a while that was 25% off. It was more pricey than what I could have chosen so I am counting that as my splurge for the remodel.

We also got 14 recessed lights, in-wall tv cord kit, wire, bathroom vent, sand paper, ceiling boxes, etc. Lots of little stuff that is needed. Some of it we had cash for thankfully. But the rest was added to the remodel loan.

We still have a long way to go with the remodel, but I can at least see progress.

He had finally decided to apply for a job with good pay / benefits but crappy work and hours. Before he could do that someone told him about a much better job that was hiring. He applied for that but they are saying they aren't going to start the hiring process until after July 15th. So we are still waiting.

Then another job came open which has GREAT pay and benefits but just okay hours. He applied for that (along with probably 100 other people, ugh). Well they called today to let him know he has made it to the final hiring process and he is scheduled for an interview on the 17th. Yay!

The original planned job is also now hiring. So husband will probably go ahead and apply for that as well. All this to say there are 3 good jobs in the running and we are hoping and praying that husband can manage to snag one of them. He is a great worker and has never called in sick or been late. Just wish someone would give him a chance to shine.

Husband is still wishing for #1, although #2 would be great for us financially. He would be getting about a 50% raise. Which is equally to what I am currently making. All of them offer good benefits and retirement which is a major improvement over what we currently have.

Please keep us in your thoughts and pray that interviews go well. This could be a real life changer for us.

I got my estimate back for my new gutters. They came in about $500 less than budgeted. Score!

Then my oven stopped working... It is at least 30 years old and came with the house when we bought it. It has been going out/not working off and on for a couple years now. But if you wiggle/bang on it enough it will come on.

Everyday it gets a little harder to get it working. Finally a couple days ago I thought it finally gave up the ghost, then yesterday it magically started again. Today it is broke again. lol. It makes me crazy wondering when it is really going to be its last day.

Several stores are offering up to 40% off on ovens right now because of the holiday so it might be time to bite the bullet and buy a new one. We are going to go window shopping next week and see how good of a deal we can find. I worry if I don't get it now, it will die in a couple weeks and then we will have to wait months until the next sale. If we do purchase something we will use the $500 we saved on the gutters.

I did look on the local craigslist and sellers clubs but the used ones are only $50 - $100 cheaper than a brand new one on sale!

Last year we replaced our failing washer during a holiday sale and I am still super happy with my purchase. I consider myself a frugal person. But a purchase is definitely worth it if it improves your quality of life. And let me tell you I am so over having to fidget with my oven for 10 minutes every time I need to cook something. What a frustration and waste of time.